Monday, December 22, 2008

Customers Deserve More from MicrosoftKids Deserve Justice Animals deserve betterThe war we deserve...Did Brooke Burke Deserve to Win 'Dancing with the Stars'?We get the government we deserve...For some reason, I've been noticing the word "deserve" lately. Could be curmudgeonly of me, but I think that to deserve means you've earned something, beyond just being a good compliant American consumer.

It's a slippery word. What, if anything, do I deserve? A good job...a healthy family...shelter...happiness? I want those things, for sure, and strive for them, but do I DESERVE them?

Ok, how about convienences....like working appliances, hot running water, decent tires for the truck? Again, I want those things and work to maintain them, but most of the world lives without thinking about 'em. Ever.

Do we deserve respect? Good schools? Safe streets? Adequate medical services? The internet?

Sigh. I have no answers. It's just something that's been bugging me lately.

In the words of Jack Benny:I don't deserve this award, but I have arthritis and I don't deserve that either.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Well, that pretty much sums it up...lol I was about to leave snarky comments on the blogs of Daud and Daud-in-law about how they haven't posted anything in just ages, but then, I haven't either. We here in the northland get sorta sloggy in winter. We start to move slower. We believe that stuff about holeing up and keeping warm. We concern ourselves with adding humidity to the air in our houses, and finding air leaks, not reporting on it. After all, like Garrison says, we live where the weather is trying to kill us. We need to stay on our toes, just slower.In other news thats not new...the Czech Government has finally added the books we needed! What I think we've found is that Heschs didn't live there (in Niedermuhl or Oberschlagles) until after 1819 or so, since that's when they start showing up in parish records. The Paul and Veronica Hesch family showed up in Schamers parish, in the village of Weissenbach (south of Niedermuhl). The kids sound right, and like Larry says, if you have a preponderance of evidence, then you assume it's right until you find something to change your mind. OK!Their children were Martin (born the same day as Josh only in 1790), Joseph, Mathias, Theresia, Franz, and Wenzel finally, in 1802.We think it was this Martin who moved to Oberschlagles, where son Johann was born and who eventually married Maria Schlinz, and had a son they named Paul who became our great grandfather. Whew.

EDITORIAL NOTE: This woulda been the PERFECT connection, except that two of Paul and Veronicas' kids died in infancy--Mathias and MARTIN. (I found the info shortly after I wrote this...how odd to mourn for a child who died 217 years ago, huh?)The saga continues!You're welcome.